He added that as XRP "surpassed ETH as the second largest cryptocurrency, market hype continued to drive the price."

Sean Walsh, a partner at venture capital firm Redwood City Ventures, also spoke to the role that major news events played in driving the cryptocurrency higher.

"This price move appears to be a continuation of December's XRP gains in response to the double benefits of their followthrough on their 55 billion XRP escrow commitment, and the AMEX/Santander/XRP partnership announced in November," he stated.

"Further, the recent XRP news cycle has been overwhelmingly positive which certainly has a way of gaining it's own momentum," added Walsh.

Coinbase Rumors

Finally, rumors have been circulating that Coinbase will soon add XRP trading functionality.

Should the exchange operator decide to add the digital currency, it would make the XRP accessible to a "wider audience," emphasized Iqbal Gandham, UK managing director at eToro.

Travis Parker, COO of IRA Bitcoin LLC, which specializes in IRA and 401k transfers into Ripple and other cryptocurrencies, also spoke to this development.

"There is a strong, well-supported rumor in the marketplace that Ripple will soon be listed on Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S.," he said.

"Joining Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, this will make it much easier for people to invest."

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